TMC MLA Silbhadra resigns from party, 3rd leader to quit in 2 days

Kolkata: A day after former transport minister Suvendu Adhikari resigned from the Trinamool Congress, the party’s Barrackpore MLA, Shilbhadra Dutta, quit and sent his resignation to party supremo Mamata Banerjee.

In his resignation letter, Dutta wrote, “I am tendering my resignation as a member of All India Trinamool Congress as well as from all others positions held by me in the party and its associate organisation with immediate effect.” Dutta had earlier refused to meet the party’s election strategist Prashant Kishore and his team.

On Thursday, Jitendra Tiwari, MLA from Pandabeswar and president of the TMC’s Paschim Bardhaman district unit, had resigned from all positions in the party.

Tiwari, a former chairperson of the Asansol Corporation, had recently shot a letter to Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim accusing the government of blocking Rs 2,000 crore of central funds for the smart city project.

Another TMC MP Sunil Mandal and Bengal forest minister Rajib Banerjee have also spoken out against the party.

Adhikari’s resignation is likely to trigger an exodus from the TMC to the BJP at multiple levels across the state.

Several rebel TMC MLAs and leaders are likely to join the BJP along with Suvendu at a public meeting presided over by Home Minister Amit Shah in Medinipur over the weekend, sources said. The rest are likely to wait and watch for now.

Meanwhile, Shah will arrive in Kolkata late Friday night on a two-day visit to the state. According to BJP sources, Shah’s visit assumes significance as a large number of TMC leaders, including Suvendu Adhikari, are set to join the party in presence of Shah.